If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know this is true. I detest it. I avoid it at all costs. If there is an option between going to the gym or doing something else, I will always pick the other option. Especially if it involves wine.

But, I know that exercise is the one thing missing in my wellbeing routine. I know that exercise is key to preventing chronic illness and can reduce my chances of developing breast cancer (even though I have the genetic mutation that increases my risk).

I know that exercise will help me stay mindful and present and keep my energy levels high. I know it will raise my good cholesterol and lower my bad cholesterol. I know it’s a part of self-care and taking care of my body and setting the foundation for my future health.

I recently had a conversation with a friend, talking about our various health issues. I started a new job this past week, and the transition from full-time entrepreneurship to full-time employment was harder than I anticipated! I was waking up in the night with racing thoughts and anxiety, I was hungry all the time, and I noticed my energy changing throughout the day.

She was frustrated with her weight. She started a new diet a few months ago and consistently lost a bunch of weight in the first several weeks. But now, she hasn’t lost a single pound in the last month. She’s been keeping up with her diet and exercise routine, but it’s not having the same impact that it did in the beginning.

This conversation got me thinking about women’s health and wellness. Here we are, two smart, professional, accomplished women, and we can’t seem to get a handle on our health! And the interesting part is that we’re struggling with different aspects of our health – sleep and energy for me, weight for her. What could we do to feel better?

I asked her how everything else was going – her relationships, career, hobbies, etc. She told me she was stressed about work because she didn’t feel totally valued in her role. She lost the passion she once had for her career, and she was thinking about other options, like going back to school. Her relationship with her boyfriend was going great, but she was surrounded by negative friends and family members.

Then it hit me – our health isn’t just about diet and exercise. There are so many other factors that impact how we feel on a daily basis. In fact, our wellbeing is so much more complex and nuanced. Eating well and exercising regularly are great ways to improve our health, but they won’t solve everything.

There is so much out there in this world to see, yet I am laying in my bed. I can lay here, look out my window and mentally feel so small in this world. I am only a grain of sand in this life. Therefore at the end of the day does judgement from and towards others matter? 100 years from now no one will remember me. It won’t matter how I wore my hair or what size I was.

Every 6-8 months I find myself doing a “Social Media Clean Up.” When I begin to see posts on my timelines that don’t make me happy, I am quick to hit the unfollow button; then that leads to another unfollow and another. I don’t do this out of anger; I do this to simply weed out negativity in my life. I spend so much of my time on my phone scrolling through social media, so shouldn’t I make it enjoyable for myself? And you should too!

There’s one thing commonly at the core of our hesitations. It’s why we don’t take that step forward, try that new yoga class, launch a new product or service or look for a new job.

That one thing? Fear.

Fear is a natural response to the world around us. After all, our brains use fear to keep us safe. Think about it: when you’re about to get on a roller coaster or give a presentation to a new audience, you start to feel the physical symptoms of fear, like fast heartbeat, sweaty palms and butterflies in your stomach.

That’s normal. But, we run into trouble when we’re held back by our perceived fears. The fears that we worry about and agonize over that aren’t really things we need to be afraid of.

Things like public speaking, interviewing for a new job, asking someone on a date. Those are perceived fears. We fear the end result – something that hasn’t even happened!

The bad news is that those fears can cripple us, cause anxiety, depression and keep us in our comfort zones.

“Ugh, how is it I am so successful in so many areas of my life, but taking care of myself?”

Did I see a hand raise?

Are you one of those overly worked career people, who get everything done above and beyond the call of duty? Your boss praises you. Your friends love and adore you. Your family thinks the world of you. Everyone wants to be around you. The outside looks great, but you’re a freakin’ mess on the inside! If they only knew… you almost laugh, or maybe you do, out loud at the comments, “How do you do it all?” You do and you do it well, but at what cost?

Ever have one of those days where you feel like you’re floating through time: struggling to start a project, lacking the motivation to get out of bed, facing a blank screen without a clue what to write.

That’s where I am this week. Sometimes, when I feel stuck like this, I don’t even know what day it is!

It can be difficult to pull ourselves out of the cycle of overwhelm, confusion and disinterest.

The good news is that there is one simple thing we can do to give our brains a break and let inspiration flow naturally: practice self-care.

It may seem counterintuitive to allow yourself the time to step away from your work when you have competing deadlines and demanding clients. But it’s time to lose the guilt.

Making time for self-care will improve your productivity because it allows you to focus on the most important asset in your business – you!

A few weeks ago, my mom was in a car accident which left her car totaled, her back fractured and fractured fingers on both hands. My sisters and I were very upset about the situation, because we all realized that if she had a different car, things could have been much worse.

We were all so angry when we heard about the accident. There was a terrible snowstorm that day, and another driver was driving too fast and lost control of his truck. He left the scene without a scratch on him, and my mom was rushed to the hospital in a neck brace.

We were angry at the other driver because he almost took away our only living parent. We were angry that she was the one who was hurt and would be out of work for 4 weeks. We were angry that he was driving so fast during a snowstorm, that he was even on the road at all.

But all that anger left us feeling helpless, depressed, frustrated. We were powerless to change the circumstances. Meanwhile, the man driving the truck doesn’t even know we exist.

My top strength is Competition. I love pushing myself to try new things, build new habits and improve my life.

30-day challenges speak to my soul! They’re a great way to try something new for a month. At the end of the challenge, if you like it, you can keep going on your own! If you don’t, you can move on to something else. The Sagittarius in me LOVES that there’s an end date.

I was working 10-hour days and commuting an hour each way to a job I didn’t want. Sure, that was exhausting, but it was nothing compared to the crushing effects of the depression that seemed to creep in unannounced.